The act of living in Zimbabwe is somewhat of a gamble at the moment, so you may think that there might be very little affinity for visiting Zimbabwe’s casinos. Actually, it seems to be functioning the other way around, with the atrocious market circumstances creating a greater desire to wager, to try and locate a fast win, a way out of the crisis.
For the majority of the citizens living on the meager local money, there are two popular forms of gaming, the state lottery and Zimbet. As with practically everywhere else on the globe, there is a state lotto where the chances of hitting are surprisingly small, but then the winnings are also surprisingly big. It’s been said by financial experts who study the situation that most do not buy a card with the rational belief of hitting. Zimbet is centered on either the national or the United Kingston football divisions and involves predicting the outcomes of future games.
Zimbabwe’s gambling dens, on the other hand, pamper the exceedingly rich of the society and vacationers. Up till recently, there was a exceptionally large tourist business, founded on safaris and trips to Victoria Falls. The economic woes and associated bloodshed have cut into this trade.
Amongst Zimbabwe’s gambling halls, there are 2 in the capital, Harare, the Carribea Bay Resort and Casino, which has 5 gaming tables and slots, and the Plumtree gambling den, which has just the slot machines. The Zambesi Valley Hotel and Entertainment Center in Kariba also has just slot machines. Mutare contains the Monclair Hotel and Casino and the Leopard Rock Hotel and Casino, the pair of which contain table games, slot machines and video poker machines, and Victoria Falls has the Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino and the Makasa Sun Hotel and Casino, the pair of which offer slot machines and blackjack, roulette, and craps tables.
In addition to Zimbabwe’s gambling halls and the above alluded to lottery and Zimbet (which is considerably like a pools system), there is a total of two horse racing complexes in the country: the Matabeleland Turf Club in Bulawayo (the second metropolis) and the Borrowdale Park in Harare.
Given that the economy has deflated by more than 40% in the past few years and with the connected deprivation and conflict that has resulted, it isn’t known how healthy the sightseeing business which is the backbone of Zimbabwe’s casinos will do in the next few years. How many of them will still be around until things improve is simply not known.